This is me. I have so many ideas, so many ambitions and I literally drag them with me throughout the day. Take this moment for example. After leaving work I drove to my son’s cross-country meet 20 miles outside of town, drove back into town with him, picked up my other son, went home and quickly ate our crockpot meal and as we dashed out the door to head to piano lessons I shoved the newspaper, and two books into my bag and carried my lap top in the other. Oh, and balanced a glass of water on my pinky finger. A girl’s gotta hydrate! Now I’m sitting outside my son’s piano lessons and weighing my options, I decided to take out my computer. To write. If by some stretch of the time-space imagination I wrap up this post, I might just have time to read the newspaper or one of my books!
I’m so glad to be here and writing to you. I’ve had such a busy – umm, well, I’m not sure how to finish that sentence really. A busy day? Week? Month? LIFE?! I know we all feel like this at times and I’m in one of those times. There is some adrenaline that keeps me going, but there is also space – like the one I’m in right now that I really, truly want to recognize and honor. That’s why I decided to write.
Do you have a goal that you’re working on right now, but can’t find the energy to make meaningful, measurable ground toward that goal? Let me tell you – keep those goals, don’t lose sight of them, but also don’t stop recognizing that it’s the small actions that lead to the big moments. Without the small, we would never get to the big. Sometimes we forget that and when we see someone else’s big win or big goal being met, we don’t stop to think about the time and effort that they put in behind the scenes each day to get there. The small steps may seem less rewarding or less fulfilling and we give up because the path looks too long. What if we approached this differently?
First, think of yourself as an eagle flying high above a forest taking in the whole sea of trees – a beautiful sight. Now, dive down toward the trees. Once in the trees you look for the perfect branch to rest upon. There, you found it. Now leave the eagle in the tree and become the mouse on the forest floor. As a mouse you are running, scurrying madly about from one tree to the next, from one hole to another. You may be moving food, foraging for food, or digging a hole. Each of these actions serves a purpose. The mouse cannot see above the trees and will never have that perspective. You, however, do. When you are in the position of the mouse you are taking small steps and can’t see the entire forest. Most of the time this will be you, working on the forest floor. Yet, the forest is large and a magnificent sight from up above.
Being mindful and aware that it takes both the work of the mouse and the vision of the eagle to accomplish our goals with persistence and grace. From time to time, step back to look at how far you’ve come, what you’ve made, where you’ve been and give full appreciation for that. Then, get back to work like the mouse on the forest floor doing all the small actions that without, big moments would not exist.
There might be more I can squeeze out of this metaphor, but I’m going to be real with you. I’m tired and piano lessons are just about wrapped up. I know that some days will seem long and you’ll feel like all you did was push dirt around all day. Please – for the sake of all things wonderful and messy, don’t forget to appreciate yourself for those seemingly small actions. I assure you, the eagle sees your day quite differently.
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